


Coast Caffrey

by drazilnazil



Series: Caffrey Collections [1]
Category: Chuck (TV), White Collar
Genre: Family Feels, Hurt Neal Caffrey, Multi, Neal Caffrey & Bryce Larkin Are Twins, Protective Neal Caffrey, Protective Older Brothers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:06:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27361705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drazilnazil/pseuds/drazilnazil
Summary: His brother from the age of eight had raised him when his mother and father didn't, he had to deal with having to know them and see them walk away.This information didn't hurt as much for him because he didn't even remember his parents, much less had any real connection with them other than some half-baked imaginary scenarios he made up as a kid.Because whenever he needed to think about a parental figure, only Danny showed up in his mind.As much as Neal caused them problems and unnecessary stress, they still have grown to like the man as an unofficial colleague despite his unique situation.So the question that bared upon their shoulders was; what do they do now?The summary is just a snippet of two separate sections of the first chapter, my summaries tend to lack most of the time so I didn't even try. Basically, it's just a lot of protective older brother neal, and the white-collar team, as well as team Bartkowski, learning about the brothers. With a partial plot of the mother coming back into the picture, and not in a good way.
Relationships: Chuck Bartowski & Bryce Larkin, Elizabeth Burke/Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey & Bryce Larkin, Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Series: Caffrey Collections [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2068359
Kudos: 48





	Coast Caffrey

To put it lightly, no one wanted to be there that night. It was late into a Saturday evening when their current occupation of mind had arrived. Not long before their stay in the van, one of their cases that had taken the past two weeks to close had been officially solved. 

The specific case had definitely put a strain on everyone involved and so it was expected by the agents that the weekend was to be spent with rest and recuperation, maybe even a lovely glass of wine with a lovely wife and dog watching the game.

But it had seemed as though life had a different plan for them. 

Special agent Peter Burke had gotten word from the marshals that a certain consulting criminal of theirs had been wandering about suspiciously during the day, stretching to the corners of their tethered leash. Stopping at houses, stores, and restaurants around the area for short periods of time before either walking or taking a cab to their next destination. 

And in the packed city of ‘The Empire’, it painted out a nasty image for the agent to picture.

So here he was, joined by Special agent Diana Berrigan and Special agent Clinton Jones in the van. He had informed the two on the situation, and prompted an off the books investigation, but reminded them that they could refuse; the two agents joined him in the van shortly after the call.

The night was not one to be excused, as the moon had cradled itself in the sky it seemed as if the world had been in peace with itself. The clouds layered thinly across the sky as its dark skin seemed almost speckled with minut dashes of white light.

A small white and blue van with the exterior of an old and rundown packaging company rested at the edge of the park, the interior of it was filled with monitors and audio filters of different sizes.

Inside sat three agents monitoring different angles of the park through several different cameras and mics established under lights and poles, the musk of deviled ham and other foods mixed with the vans lack of air filtration led to a quite uncomfortable experience. 

However, the agents still sat diligently as they kept their eyes on a man in a muted blue dress shirt with a dark blue tie and a dark grey vest and suit pants sitting at one of the empty chess tables in the center of the park with a large brown bag, and a black-banded fedora laying on the table.

The man in question was slim and of fair height, reaching about 5’10 in feet, a brunette with cobalt blue eyes. 

He sat comfortably in front of a young man with a similar physique, across from him sat what seemed to be a bit younger. Looked to be not long out of college, decked out in a black t-shirt and blue flannel shirt with jeans. 

The two looked to be related, probably differentiated by about 8-10 years of age. 

Which baffled the agents in the van as it seemed as though their criminal consultant had no known relatives, much less possible siblings, but it seemed as though today was made for surprises. 

The older of the two looked at the young man with a slight look of resignation, not anything that prompted bad-blood between the two, but alluded to the conversation not being exactly willing on one end. 

“ Even if I could have stopped her, I wouldn't have.”

The younger met the elders' eyes in confusion.

“ What do you mean Danny?”

Danny looked sad at the question, a grim smile masked across his face as he reached into the paper bag below him to pull out a manilla folder. 

Opening it, be carefully dragged out a single photo, it seemed to be in poor condition -- corners falling apart, crumpled and creased-- as if no care was given into its image.

“ This is mom, Bryce.”

Bryce looked shocked at this revelation as he was handed the photo of a middle-aged woman with long brown hair and a joyous smile.

Running his thumb over the edges of the picture, his eyes furrowed as he tried to connect the woman in the photo with the idea of a mother he had in his head.

“ This still doesn't answer my question, what do you mean you wouldn't have stopped her?”

“ What I am about to tell you changes nothing about who you are or our relationship, I love you more than anything brat, always have and always will. Alright?”

Looking stricken by the piercing look his older brother gave him as he spoke he merely nodded and offered a small verbal confirmation. 

Taking in a deep breath, Daniel began to confess.

“ As you know, when you were about two months old dad had been shot on duty. And when you were about fourteen months, mom had been called to work overseas and had been sending us money till you were nine, when she passed away.”

Unsettled, Bryce confirmed “ Yeah, and then you had to start doing all those odd jobs to keep us stable right? That's why you got put in prison a few years ago.”

Seeing as though his brother wasn't looking at him in the eye, the young man began to look concerned. Something told him that wasn’t the truth, at least not all of it.

“ Danny, what aren’t you telling me?”

“.. Kid, there's no easy way to say this” shoulders tightening as if he was atlas holding up the sky.

“ Dad never died on duty as an officer, and mom never had worked overseas. They were just stories I made up as a kid to keep you safe.”

A sharp audible intake of breath was all that was needed to convey the young man's shock. 

He looked at the older man in front of him, and looked like he wanted to be mad, but couldn't. Daniel sat stiffly in the chill of the night, eyes clouded with grief and apprehension, but also a tinge of fear. 

And as much as Bryce felt shocked and a bit betrayed; the man sitting in front of him had raised him, and he could never fault him for that.

Putting his hand across the table to cup the elders -- in the chill of the night, the warm touch was comforting-- Bryce took a deep breath and nodded, prompting his brother to continue. 

“ Dad was crooked, had a whole line up of crimes ranging from evidence tampering to murder. So when he got caught, he was immediately detained and sentenced to fifty years. Mom didn't take it so well,” 

Gripping his brother's hand tighter as Daniel’s seemed frustrated by his memories. 

“ for a while she was okay. She was a bit withdrawn but still acted like a mom. But then she started leaving the house at night, and one forgotten dinner turned into two, then she would forget to feed you and she would just leave bags of it in the fridge, leaving for nights and collapsing on the couch in the morning drunk, getting angry and violent when she woke up hungover.” 

As Daniel listed these things out, Bryce's grip on his hand clamped on tighter.

“ Some nights I would have to hide you in the closet by the kitchen just so she wouldn't hear you crying the morning for food,” he confessed looking ashamed and upset.

“ One morning she came home and marched her way up to her room, packed her bags, and left. Took all her drugs and belongings with her and left. Didn't say a word to me” 

Suddenly Daniel's hand turned to cup the younger’s, looking down into his onto the table. 

“ And I didn't have anything to say to her either.”

The air between the two brothers fell heavy, the space between the two so close yet so far. With the elder trapped in his memories, and the younger trying to fit this new information into theirs.

“ So what happened next?”

Looking up to meet Bryce’s eyes, the older of the two felt their jaw dip just slightly as his younger brother seemed to take this new information with stride, just looking barely ruffled. 

Clearing his throat, 

“ I called Aunt Ellen and she took care of things, no-one could ever find either mom or dad. So she took custody over us. The money coming in was from her. Since she had a life outside of ours, she couldn't be there all the time,”

“ and the courts thought we lived with her, and used the house as a second home. So she would pay the rent, water bills, and electricity. Drop off groceries every few weeks or so and then leave.”

Pulling out a stack of papers and a binder with laminated forms, he lightly pushed the contents towards Bryce to look over. 

As the younger opened the binder he saw the legal documentation of their childhood, the papers defining them as a ‘ward’ of their aunt, and the dozens or forums filled out throughout the years about their schooling and life before the age of eighteen. His brother gained custody of him when his brother was eighteen?

“ Ellen had paid off the house and created an account in the bank over the years she cared for us, and since she was pretty wealthy the amount accumulated to quite a lot. So when she moved away when you were nine we were pretty much set to live well off till you were fifteen, and by then I was already capable of making enough money to support us both.”

Flipping through the pages as Bryce listened to his brother continue to explain to him the jobs he did to keep them above the water. Alleged forgeries, insurance fraud, bond convictions, thefts, you name it. All to keep them stable.

It baffled him. 

His brother from the age of eight had raised him when his mother and father didn't, he had to deal with having to know them and see them walk away.

This information didn't hurt as much for him because he didn't even remember his parents, much less had any real connection with them other than some half-baked imaginary scenarios he made up as a kid. 

Because whenever he needed to think about a parental figure, only Danny showed up in his mind. 

“ So I guess that's it.”

The statement was followed by an exhausted sigh that seemed to shock Bryce out of his head as his brother chuckled at his startle.

Looking at his brother laugh, the younger couldn't help but feel a bit warm inside. As Danny had stated before, this conversation changed nothing about their relationship.

Daniel was still the man that raised him, taught him how to tie his shoes, and took him out to eat after his date to prom dipped on him.

“ Yeah, I guess it is.”

The two brothers looked at each other for a few moments, neither speaking a word before breaking out into laughter.  
Despite all the truths laid bare before them, the two still continued to love and care for each other just as much as they did an hour before their conversation. 

Danny grabbed Bryce by the arm and started walking them towards the street side, where --like magic-- a taxi had been on course near them, as they hailed the cab in to take them to a restaurant the elder had set up a reservation for the two. 

Entering the warm cab, the two headed off for dinner. Unaware of the van sitting adjacent to them.

The agents in the van had heard the whole conversation as well as saw it from multiple angles.  
And there was no mistaking the relation between the two, as they were clearly brothers.

The only thing that was keeping them grounded was the question of what they were going to do with this information.

Obviously, this was nothing illegal, but It did strike them as shocking nonetheless.

Not much was known about their friend, not even apparently their real name as the name Danny or they supposed ‘Daniel’, was not one they were familiar with. 

And with all the information spilled from this conversation, by the expectations governing their agreement with Caffrey they were probably going to be prompted to investigate further.

Peter set down the headphones used to monitor the audio from the mics surrounding the area as he looked over to Diana and Clinton. He could tell the two felt just as at odds as he did.

As much as Neal caused them problems and unnecessary stress, they still have grown to like the man as an unofficial colleague despite his unique situation.

So the question that bared upon their shoulders was; what do they do now?

**Author's Note:**

> It updates irregularly, but I guarantee there will be a finish. Until next time, leave suggestions in the comments!


End file.
